Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will need to raise about $300 billion between 2018 and 2021, with Saudi Arabia having the largest financing requirements, according to rating agency S&P as reported in Reuters.

According to a Reuters report, the S&P expects 70 percent of the $300 billion of combined funding needs to be raised through debt and the remaining 30 percent to be drawn on assets. That report notes that Qatar and Bahrain are expected to fill their funding needs almost exclusively through debt while Kuwait and Abu Dhabi will rely more on assets.

Gulf states have increasingly embraced external financing after a fall in oil prices in 2015.

Saudi Arabia has raised $52 billion through a combination of conventional and Islamic international bonds since its debut in the international markets in late 2016.